The Creation of Ash
by xxxkia
Summary: 5 years after the war, a conspiracy at the Ministry steals powerful, dark objects. A hint leads them to a warded place, where Voldemort hid a deadly and destructive weapon. A weapon, which turns out to be a man with unimaginable powers. But before the conspiracy catches him, he escapes with the help of Hermione, who has no idea what she had just unleashed. Obscurial!Draco. Dark DHr
1. Hill

**The Creation of Ash**

 **Author:** xxxkia  
 **Rating:** M  
 **Pairing:** Draco/Hermione

 **Warnings:** _Dark Themes, Torture, War, Graphic Description of Violence and Torture, Sexual Situations_

 **Extended Summary:  
** After a horrible incident, Draco Malfoy develops an Obscurus at the age of 4. When he grows stronger with time, he attracts the attention of Voldemort, who kidnaps him and holds him captive for decades, even after the war is long over.

5 years after the war, a conspiracy arises at the Ministry. A new faction of Dark Wizards seeks power and starts to steal and collect dark and powerful objects. A hint leads them to a warded place, where Voldemort apparently hid a deadly and destructive weapon. A weapon, which turns out to be a man, with unimaginable powers.

Before the conspiracy is able to catch him, the man escapes with the help of Hermione, who has no idea what she had just unleashed upon the Wizarding World.

 _Obscurial!Draco. Professor!Hermione._ A dark, post-war Dramione fanfiction.

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 **Table of Contents:**

 **01:** on a **Hill** **  
** **02:** there is a **Patch  
** **03:** of **Dirt  
** **04:** it is **Loose  
** **05:** for the **Seed  
** **06:** which is **Covered** easily  
 **07:** through **Water  
** **08:** and **Sun  
** **09:** with **Time  
** **10:** and **Patience  
** **11:** a **Seedling** will grow  
 **12:** and become a **Sapling  
** **13:** until it finally turns into a **Tree  
** **14:** which will be **Logged  
** **15:** and made to fire **Wood  
** **16:** it will be **Dried  
** **17:** and cut into **Pieces  
** **18:** arranged into a **Pile  
** **19:** all that is needed is a **Spark  
** **20:** to start a **Fire  
** **21:** which will produce some **Light  
** **22:** first it is a **Struggle  
** **23:** then it turns into a **Blaze  
** **24:** before it is reduced to a **Flicker  
** **25:** until it becomes **Ember  
** **26:** which will turn **Cold  
** **27:** and the light makes way for **Darkness  
** **28:** because once the fire's **Dead  
** **29:** then there will be only **Smoke  
** **30:** and a pile of **Ash**

 **31: The Story of Noctua**

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Welcome to **The Creation of Ash!**

 **This note will be long, so I hope you stay with me :D**

 **I'm so glad that you found your way here, no matter if it was over Facebook, over Pure or just by finding it in the HP category. If you are a Dramione shipper, you are right here! If you love Powerful!Draco, then you are right here as well!**

 **This story could really be called a Crossover between Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them! I mean, the summary obviously revealed the one major plot line of this story. Ever since watching the new movie, I've been fascinated by the Obscurus and wanted to write about it, so what is better than to put it into a Dramione setting?**

 **For those, who don't know what an Obscurus is, here's the scoop: (Obvious Spoiler for Fantastic Beasts!)**

 _When a young wizard or witch represses their magic, they develop a parasitical magical force inside of them, which is called an Obscurus. The host of the Obscurus is called Obscurial. When the child reaches a breaking point, the Obscurus is realeased as an invisible destructive wind. In some cases, the Obscurial can physically transform into the Obscurus. When an Obscurial releases the Obscurus within, their eyes turn white and their body starts to distort. Children, who developed an Obscurus, normally die before their 10th birthday._

 **Now that this is out of the way, I have four more things to say :D As you can see above, I already figured out the chapter titles and the meaning behind them. I've written the first few chapters but not the whole story yet! Just wanted to say that.**

 **Then, this story is an obvious AU because Draco never attended Hogwarts. For the sake of story telling and making sense of the Canon, I just decided that Theo Nott took over Draco's place as Harry's school enemy. For example, it was Nott Sr., who gave Ginny the diary, Theo was given the Dumbledore mission, and Harry, Ron and Hermione ended up in Nott Manor during the Horcrux hunt. Lucius and Narcissa were still involved as Death Eaters and in the end it was still Narcissa, who lied about Harry, but not because she was looking for Draco but because she wanted the war to end and Harry to win. Therefore, the 7 books happened like we know them, just without Draco and with the Malfoys being less noticeable for the Golden Trio. This story is set 5 years after the war.**

 _Disclaimer:_ **I don't own anything! BUT the poem for the chapters and the plot, I guess.**

 **And last but not least, thank you to my betas:** Lady Evora ** & **SKDMHG **!**

 **So, I'm done now! Enjoy ;-)**

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 **Chapter 1: Hill**  
 **(Prologue)**

 _on a **Hill**_

* * *

It once was a castle on the hill.

Harry Potter stared at the ruins, which once must have belonged to a majestic building. High walls and high towers built from solid white stone. But now it was just a pile of weathered stones, broken and ruined.

The night was clear and dark, the moon was just a crescent; high above the hill, shining down milky light on the remains of the old castle. Harry couldn't spot everything in the darkness of the night with the moon not full but it was enough for him.

His glance wandered in the direction of the tent, which he knew was hidden behind another green hill on the other side where he was standing at the moment.

There was a rustle next to him and the black-haired wizard turned his head slightly.

"Tell me again, what are we doing here exactly?" Ron Weasley asked his best friend as he stepped next to Harry. Both of them were dressed in dark clothes, no robes, nothing to distract them.

"We are here to find something."

"What again?"

"Not quite sure."

"Well, good to know then." Ron answered dryly, looking over at the other wizard, who frowned back at him.

"And why are we doing it in the middle of the night without anyone knowing while there are a group of Unspeakables and one Curse Breaker on the other side of the hill?" Ron nodded towards the castle and therefore towards the tent on the other side, the same Harry had spotted earlier as they had searched the grounds around the ruins.

"Something's hidden in those ruins, something Voldemort tried to hide from the world. There are strong wards surrounding them and the Unspeakables have tried to break through them for over a week now with no results." Harry explained before he turned around, frowning before he checked his watch. "She's late."

"So, when the Unspeakables struggled to break through the wards, what makes you think we could?" Ron continued to asked while he started to look around as well.

"Oh, I don't think _we_ can. But their Curse Breaker is a moron." Harry retorted. "Besides, ours is better."

"Ours?" Ron said surprised at the same time a quiet popping sound could be heard behind them.

The two of them turned around to find the third member of ther trio.

"You are late." Harry stated and Hermione grimaced as she came closer.

"You gave me the wrong coordinates. I landed a few kilometres over there." She pointed into the night away from them. "And then I first had to scan the area."

"Hey Hermione." Ron smiled at her and she smiled back sweetly before she looked back at Harry, her smile dropping.

"At least one's friendly." she mumbled absently before her glance wandered over to the castle on the hill. She whistled when she felt the wards, which were guarding the place.

"What is this place?" Hermione finally asked, looking from Harry to Ron and back. "And why exactly am I here?"

"Alright," Harry started, leaning closer while Ron and Hermione listened quietly. "About two weeks ago, I had to go to Azkaban for some formalities and while I was there I overheard two guards talk about how three Unspeakables where going in and out for the past few days, interrogating Death Eaters."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "All the imprisoned Death Eaters are put on isolation. Every interview or interrogation needs to be requested in front of the Wizengamot unless it's life threatening."

"Exactly," Harry nodded in agreement. "This was one thing that threw me off. The other is that in the past months, there had been several break-ins and they all featured some missing dark objects. There was the break-in at _Borgin & Burkes_ where a handful of books and one or two objects were stolen, then the break-in at Nott Manor, at the Parkinson Estate, the mansion of the Flints and last week someone tried to break into Malfoy Manor but the wards were too strong to get through. All of those places still host a lot of dark objects, even after the Ministry raided them when the war was over. And with every break-in, a few of those objects got stolen. Now, a few questions here and there, one or two trips under my invisibility cloak and I found out that the Unspeakables went to Azkaban to question one Death Eater only. And the results of the interrogation was that the man gave them the location of this place, saying that Voldemort had hid his most powerful weapon here. His Plan B so to say, which he never was able to use."

Hermione's eyes were wide. "Voldemort's Plan B? Harry, are you trying to tell us that you want to break in there!" she gestures to the dark silhouette of the hill, her voice raising.

"That's completely barmy, mate!" Ron agreed. "Besides, the Unspeakables are here. If there is some power source or weapon in there, then they can deal with it better than us."

"That's exactly the point!" Harry insisted, balling his fist in frustration. "Since Kingsley gave up the position as Ministry, the new Minister seems dodgy to me! The Department of Mysteries isn't even accessible anymore, they are completely shut off with the Unspeakables being some sort of exclusive group. And now they interrogate Death Eaters where Voldemort's former lairs were?"

"Are you trying to say that you think that the Unspeakables are behind the break-ins? That they are collecting dark objects under the order of Minister Fawley?" Hermione asked, her mouth agape. "Harry, that's ridiculous."

"Is it?" Harry defended. "You said it yourself, Hermione. When you started to work as a Curse Breaker for the Ministry after Hogwarts, you said that you felt like they were trying to bully you out of the office again. And once you finally quit to become a teacher, your chair wasn't cold before they replaced you with Wystan Fawley, precious son of our new Minister. Fawley Jr. works with the Unspeakables at the moment by the way. He's supposed to break the wards for them but he hasn't managed to do that yet."

Hermione snorted. She knew that her replacement was not even half as skilled as she was but Harry was right. When the war had ended five years ago, she had started to work as a Curse Breaker for the Ministry right after she had retaken her N.E.W.T.s. But her co-workers weren't exactly a friendly bunch and she had managed a year before she finally accepted Headmistress McGonagall's offer to teach. For the last four years she had been a teacher at Hogwarts and it was the best decision she could have ever made.

Harry and Ron had become Aurors right after the war, not even caring to retake their exams. As war heroes, they were accepted right away though lately Ron seemed to struggle with the possibility of working with George at the joke shop instead.

The Wizarding World itself had started to heal as well, with all Death Eaters caught and put on trial, the time to rebuild could start. If it was houses or families or friendships, a lot had been damaged during the war and it would take some time to heal.

With Kingsley as Minister everything was getting better but then two years ago, his health started to decline and he had to step back from his position as Minister. One of the candidates nominated to replace him, was Adair Fawley. He was a Pureblood and his family even belonged to the _Sacred Twenty-Eight_ but he immigrated to the United States in the 70s and therefore, his family hadn't been involved in the two wars. He had returned to England four years ago, one year after the second war and he had money and connections. The Purebloods liked him because he was pureblood and the others liked him because he wasn't involved in the war. His views on blood purity were modern and he was charming and seem good at politics, so it wasn't a surprise when he was elected as the new Minister of Magic.

A year ago, Harry began to tell his friends of his speculation that something was going on in the Ministry internally. But when Hermione received the owl that morning with a short message and some coordinates from Harry, she surely hadn't expected to be dragged into his conspiracy theory.

"And you really think Fawley Sr. is ordering the Department of Mysteries to go after Voldemort's weapons?" Hermione finally asked, still struggling to believe Harry's strange suspicion.

"I don't know if it is the Minister or the Department itself but I know that they are hiding out here, trying to find out what Voldemort has hidden inside this castle." Harry pointed towards the ruins. "And I want to know what it is."

"Of course you do." Ron mumbled, rolling his eyes. Hermione looked over at the redhead confused.

"He's been stalking them for the whole week now. Flying around with his invisibility sloak on and all." Ron explained to Hermione and the brunette turned back towards Harry, her eyebrows raised.

The black-haired wizard shrugged unapologetic. "Like you didn't want to know what's in there as soon as you heard that Voldemort wanted to use it as a weapon."

"Actually, no, I don't." Ron answered while Hermione sighed.

"So, I guess, you called me here to break through the wards before Wystan manages to do it. You said that they have been here for a week already? Hmmm, if we come here for the next three nights, I might be able to get through."

Harry scoffed. "Next three nights? I don't think so, Hermione. You don't have the next three nights, you don't even have one day. I need you to break through the wards before sunrise."

"Sunrise! Are you mental?"

"Come on! You are the brightest witch of our age!" Harry grinned at her sheepishly as the brunette huffed in annoyance. She pulled out her wand from her robes, raising it in the air before she made some steps towards the hill.

She glanced above to the castle, which lay silent in the darkness of the night. Ancient wards were surrounding it, wards of complicated dark magic and Hermione knew instantly that they weren't there to guard whatever was inside from intruders.

They were there to keep whatever was inside from escaping.

* * *

Up on the hill, past the wards, on the still-standing tower of the castle ruins, a man was looking over over the grounds with dark grey eyes. He couldn't see what was behind the wards, not the Golden Trio on one side nor the tent full of Ministry workers on the other side.

The moon was a crescent above the hill.

The young man inside the castle looked up when the wards suddenly wavered as someone tried to breach it. The magic rippled, indicating that something was happening.

"They found us, Noctua." the man turned towards the darkness of the tower room and a pair of gleaming ember eyes stared back at him. A tail whipped through the night and he heard the screeching sound as big talons scratched over the stone floor. "After all these years."

"Someone's trying to break through the wards, girl. We'll be free soon." the man turned back to look over the old castle grounds.

"Soon." he whispered quietly.


	2. Patch

**Welcome to the Second Chapter!**

 **It's been a while but I had to take care of a few personal things and get them out of the way before I was able to focus on writing again.**

 **Thanks for all the follows, favs and reviews on the first chapter!**

 _Disclaimer:_ **I don't own anything!** **BUT the poem for the chapters and the plot, I guess.**

 **A big THANK YOU to my betas:** _Lady Evora_ ** & **_SKDMHG_ **!**

 **I hope you enjoy this one!**

 **Kia**

* * *

 **Chapter 2:** **Patch**

 _there is a **Patch**_

* * *

Draco watched the pile of mice with a bored expression.

There were four white and two grey but Draco's eyes fell on a small black one, which fought her way through and the others scattered away at once. The black one squeaked jubilant and the corner of Draco's mouth twitched. The black mouse then scrambled up the leg of an old, dusty chair, then up the backrest before she reached the bottom ledge of the window where Draco was standing in front of.

Draco watched the mouse hurry along the weathered windowsill until she reached the biscuit crumble, which Draco had placed there. Greedy, the mouse took the piece of biscuit in her front paws before she started to nibble at it, her whiskers moving excitedly as she nuzzled her tiny nose.

Draco smiled down at the mouse before he looked up slowly. The window before him was old and broken. Standing high on what once was a castle tower, in the remains of the tower room, Draco looked outside into the dark night. One side of the room was gone completely, the walls crumbled down while the other half was still standing, with a single window lonely in the old stone wall.

Draco reached out to put his hands on the windowsill on either side of the small mouse, trapping it inside. The sharp stones cut into his palms and his glance wandered towards the rotten furniture, which had been placed inside the open tower room a few years ago. Because rain and wind were able to reach the two chairs and the small table, the wood was wet and rotten and would probably break if someone ever attempted to use them ever again.

The top of the tower and therefore the roof of the former chamber was completely gone. The dark sky was starless and the moon was a crescent, which appeared and disappeared behind thin layers of clouds every now and then.

He was standing in the highest room of the castle keep. From here he had a panoramic view of the rest of the castle. The moat circling the hill had dried out a long time again was was only indicated with a slightly grass-overgrown ditch. The Outer Wall was still partially existing, with four smaller towers at each corner of the wall. Two towers were gone but the ones in the South and East were still standing. The Inner Wall was gone except for some piles of debris. The Court Yard was overgrown with grass, bushes and plants. Some leftover stones indicated where the Great Hall of the castles had once been. The Castle Keep, which stood slightly to the south-east was hollow on the inside but the tower room still had a floor.

Concealed by the darkness of the Tower Keep, a trap door led deep inside the hill to a dungeon that hid secrets of the past.

Draco continued to look down at the mouse, which was trapped inside his hands, the only escape would be out of the window and down, down the Castle Keep.

"Noctua, I'm hungry," Draco whispered quietly, the sound barely leaving his lips. He gazed down at the animal as the black mouse was looking up, her head held high while she listened for some sounds. Shaking her whiskers, she dropped the crumble of biscuit, then quickly scurried in the direction she had come from but Draco's hand blocked her way. She squeaked and turned around, only to find the that other way was blocked as well.

She ran back to her biscuit, taking it in her front paws while sitting down on her back legs, nose in the air. Draco frowned.

He was about to reach out, when a pulsation went through the air. Similar to when a stone was thrown in water, Draco watched how a movement went through the wards protecting the castle grounds. The magic of the ward rippled as someone tried to breach it.

"Again?" Draco drawled, looking down at the mouse, who had stopped eating and was perking up as well. Draco sighed and leant forwards, putting his arms on the wide windowsill. "They've been trying to get through for a week now."

The mouse squeaked and Draco lifted his head again as a new wave rippled through the magic. His frown deepened. "You are right, this is different."

"It's time to go." Draco decided, pushing himself from the windowsill. He reached out to snag the black mouse by her tail, then held her up in front of his face. The mouse ranted at him in an angry squeak, the biscuit crumble held between her paws as she dangled upside down before him. Draco shook her gently.

"Drop the bloody biscuit, Noctua!" He growled but the mouse tried to snap for his face, which Draco answered by shaking her more violently. Eventually, the crumble fell out of her paws and onto the dirty floor and Draco was sure that once they were gone, the other mice would come out of their hiding spots again to eat it.

The mouse squeaked offended but Draco ignored her.

"Race you down," he then announced with a gleam in his eyes. As the third ripple hit the wards, he threw the mouse out of the window of the Castle Keep.

As magic ran through him, Draco felt how his body started to vibrate. Letting the magic out, his body combusted into thousands of particles within the blink of an eye. With a rush of air and what looked like a cloud of ash, Draco followed the mouse out of the tower window.

He had missed how the black mouse had transformed mid-air, wings appearing as it turned into a black crow instead. The bird soared through the night, cawing angrily at the grey particles, which rushed through her feathers before the two of them plunged towards the ground. Entering the base of the Castle Keep through the opening, which once upon time had held a door, the two raced into the black hole in the ground and through the long hallways of the dungeons before they reached the room in the very back.

Draco concentrated his magic again and part for part, his body was put together again before his feet landed firmly on the ground, the rest of the particles settling on his arms, rebuilding his forearms, his wrists, his palms. With the last particles settling at the tips of his fingers, Draco wriggled them before he strutted deeper into the room.

The iron gate, which once was used to seal the dungeon cell, hung by its hinges, having been blown out by Draco a few years prior. Draco rushed through his cell, gathering the little things he had.

"It's been five years since they visited me last," Draco rambled on, looking over to the black crow, that had settled on the backrest of the chair, which stood by a small table in one corner of the cell. She cawed in agreement.

"And then, the Death Eater was led in through the blood wards by Aunt Bellatrix, you remember? He was talking nonsense about that the Dark Lord would need me. Morons, all of them. Like I would actually help them," Draco laughed hollowly. "When he took away the magically enhanced shackles on my wrists and I was finally able to use part of my magic, you should have seen his face right before the outburst killed him. I told him to leave the shackles on but he wouldn't listen."

The crow cawed and Draco grimaced. "Right, why did I tell you that? You've been eating the poor fellow ever since then."

Draco's mind wandered towards the half-skeleton, which was lying far away from his cell in another one. The dampness of the dungeon was preserving some parts of his body for Noctua to feast on. He shuddered at the thought.

"But now they are trying to break through the wards with force. Something tells me, they are not Death Eaters. So maybe the others finally found out about this place? When nobody showed up for the last five years, I guessed that the Dark Lord must have failed."

The blond man gathered the few, old books he was given and threw them on his mattress, which was laying in one corner of his dungeon cell.

The crow cawed again and Draco looked up.

"I know, it's been over twelve years since we got locked up here, Noctua. But I believe that today we will be finally freed." Draco grinned as he turned himself around to look at the cell one last time, making sure he had everything gathered on the old mattress.

"And when the wards are lifted, then I will finally have full control over my magic again. The wards are dampening it, I can feel it. Even after the shackles were gone, I still haven't been able to fully use it." Draco explained to the bird before he absently rubbed the scars around his wrist. His glance wandered to the wall where two iron chains dangled, the shackles at the ends having been ripped off.

When he was first brought to this place at the age of eleven, they had shackled him to the wall for months because they weren't sure what he was capable of. That's when he still had someone who stayed at the castle as well, keeping an eye on him. The shackles had been enhanced with dark magic and they prohibited him from using his powers. But as time passed, Draco had grown stronger and at some point he was able to tear the shackles from the chains in the wall. The shackles were still on his wrist and they still kept him from doing magic but he was able to roam around free. Over the years, Draco had been neglected then and besides the monthly visits where he was brought food, he was mostly ignored. Until the day some young Death Eater showed up and took off the remains of the shackles, which had cost him his life. But nobody seemed to miss him. The years passed and Draco was sure then that the war had been lost and that everyone who knew about him was dead already.

Draco looked around the dungeon cell, which had been his home for over a decade. The stones on the floor and walls were huge and sharp, sticking out, making the ground and walls uneven. The mattress he had slept on didn't do any good and every night, Draco felt like he slept directly on the stone floor. His clothes were torn, his skin covered in dirt and his hair nearly black from all the grime. Remembering the iron shackles that had galled his wrists for seven years, leaving permanent scars. There were other marks as well, rope burns but Draco averted his eyes because he couldn't look at those.

The dungeons were dark and damp; Draco could smell the saltpetre in the air, which was all over the stone walls. In the shadowed corners of his cell as well in the other cells down here. Draco heard the sound of small animals but other than the mice, nothing bigger had come out yet.

The young man looked down at his pathetic pile of belongings. There were around thirty books, all of them read so many times that Draco could nearly quote them word for word. The spines were broken and the pages had water marks and had started to mould due to the dampness of the cell.

His eyes then fell on a small leather-bound journal and he sighed, picking it up. It was the only book that was still whole as Draco had taken special care of it and wrapped it in a spare cloth to protect the leather and hand-written notes. Inside the journal was a silver ring, smithed by Goblins, his family crest was engraved on the top of the signet ring, which identified Draco as the heir of the Malfoy family.

Draco grasped the journal, ignoring all the other books before he put it in the back of his pants, pressing it against his lower back to keep it safe.

"Come, Noctua. We have to get ready for the wards to break. I have a feeling that it's happening soon. I can feel that the wards start to leak. One little crack and we can finally escape," Draco turned towards the crow, who regarded him with deep dark eyes. They weren't black but glowing ember and Draco stretched out his hand. The crow flew over to settle on his hand and Draco watched how the crow started to shrink, shiny black feathers turned into shiny black fur, the crow's tail started to narrow and stretch and soon the black mouse from before was sitting in Draco's hand, her large, gold eyes looking up in anticipation.

Then, Draco walked down the dark corridors of the dungeons, which led towards the exit. He knew the dungeons by heart and as he was able to see impeccably at night, the lacking of light wasn't even bothering him. When they reached the steps that led into the Castle Keep again, Draco looked down to the mouse in his hand. He nodded towards her and then let her climb up his arm. Her smooth tail slipped out of his fingers as she ran up his arm and onto his shoulder. Draco felt how the mouse nudged past his collar and then stayed in the crook of his neck, her smooth fur rubbed against his skin as her tail fell down his back, tickling his shoulder blades.

"Hold on, Noctua. I have no idea who is trying to get past the wards."

Draco slowly climbed the wide stone steps.

He already knew that the intruders were coming for him. Because he was _special_ , Draco snorted.

 _Special_ , that's what his mother used to call him.

But besides everything, being held captive for years, caused Draco to be physically weak. He had no real food and his body was constantly hurt and bruised. He knew, that he had only one proper chance to flee to get to a safe place, where he would need to gather some energy first.

Additionally, time became a notion he couldn't grasp anymore. Draco had no idea what the date was or how many days had passed since his Eleventh birthday, the last moment he remembered to have spent with his parents in happiness.

He had no idea what went on outside; except that Voldemort had returned and had started a war. The former guard didn't talk to him and the last Death Eater had been dead before Draco could really ask him any questions. He had been told that Voldemort needed him then, so Draco naturally assumed that war had begun again.

War.

It was a concept, Draco had known as a child, his parents had told him about the First War early on. His father had shown him the Dark Mark on his arm, more in regret than in pride. He knew that they struggled with what they should do in the future if the Dark Lord would ever return.

At this point, Draco had no idea if they were even alive or not. If they had started to believe Voldemort's prayings or not.

As the thoughts came rushing through his mind, Draco finally realised that he had no place to go. What if this was a trap and Voldemort was still alive? What if they came now to kill him? What if someone else came to kill him? What if they wanted to test his powers by letting him free?

Draco stepped out of the Castle Keep and into the former court yard of the castle. He looked up at the moon and sighed before he continued to walk. He walked by the well, which had been magically repaired, so Draco was able to access some water.

He passed the Inner Wall before he climbed up one of the towers to the Outer Wall. Hiding in the shadow of the tower, Draco observed his surroundings.

A sound made Draco look up suddenly and he narrowed his eyes when the wards around him wavered once more. There was rippling going through the wards and Draco felt the tingling of magic in the air.

"Get ready," he quietly whispered towards Noctua and felt instantly how the small mouse had buried her sharp teeth in the skin above his collarbone, drawing a drop of his blood.

The wards wavered again, and then they disappeared.

Draco didn't lose any time when he unleashed the dark force, he kept deep inside himself. The magic took over his body and he could feel himself dissolve once more. Like a swarm of black bees, his Obscurus took over and raised into the night sky, trying to escape.

Until he brushed against another ward.

This one was new and casted over the old one. It wasn't as strong as the old one but as he had ran against it, he could feel that something had changed. He could feel the pressing of the signet ring, as it was harder to turn into this state if he had something on him that was made of goblin silver. But other that that, everything else felt different as well.

The rush of energy Draco experienced from the releasing of the former wards was draining him. He had learnt to control his powers partially but having suddenly full access was too much and Draco felt how his the control was slowly starting to slip out of his grasp. He would need to leave this state soon, otherwise, he had no idea what would happen.

His attention was then caught by three dark figures, who hurried up the hill in the darkness of the night. Once they reached the Outer Wall, they split. Two were heading towards the Tower Keep and probably for the dungeons while the third person stayed outside, their wand raised.

A thin string of magic connected the new wards with the wand and Draco instantly knew that this person had managed to break through the ward as well as cast the new ward to keep him from escaping.

As if they had known that something was inside, which would try to flee.

His decision was made quickly and while the other two wizards searched the endless labyrinth of the dungeons, Draco would be faster if he would just take out the third wizard. Killing him would break the ward and he could flee.

But something was wrong.

Jolting down towards the ground, Draco couldn't help but impact on it with a loud bang. The crater he blew into the side of the hill was large and he knew that he had definitely attracted some attention.

He groaned as he scrambled up again. His body hurt because he wasn't used to this new sensation. He could feel the force pulse inside of him, ready to break out any second. Before it was just a tingling and beside being able to change his state, Draco hadn't been able to do much more.

But now, he realised, he had no idea how to control it.

Draco slipped on the mud with his bare feet, pulling himself upright. He felt that Noctua was still sitting on his shoulder, her claws deep in his skin to keep her from falling down as Draco staggered through the night.

The power within him became too much and with nothing there to dampen it, Draco started to struggle with it, sweat breaking out of his skin. It was cool on his skin because of the fresh night air and the wind blew stronger than ever before. Another thing, the wards had kept out.

"Stop!"

The voice was clear but wavering and Draco looked up to blink, his mind was a constant blur and he even believed that the state of his body started to blur in and out. There was a dark figure standing a few feet away from him, their wand pointed and Draco knew that it was the caster of the ward. And probably the one, who broke through the former one.

His glance wandered towards the Tower Keep, knowing that his impact with the ground would have alarmed the other two wizards, who went to the dungeons. If they hadn't heard it, then they definitely would have felt how the earth vibrated strongly.

"I said stop! Don't move!" The voice came closer and Draco could distinguish it as female. The girl came closer to where he was standing, his head was pounding and everything hurt. He was stumbling over the grass, gasping, gulping, panting for air. It became too much and Draco wasn't exactly sure what was happening. Pain shot through him over and over again.

"You! Stop!" The intruder was now standing in front of him, her arm was raised and her wand was pointing at him without a waver. She looked determined and Draco saw that she must be around his age.

He let go of his senses, it was helping him a little to stay focused but on the downside, he was swapped with information.

"You're a mudblood," he bit out in pain.

The word startled her and she stumbled back, horror was written all over her face. This time, her hand started to tremble.

Her reaction showed Draco that she definitely wasn't one of Voldemort's follower. She was silently staring at him, Draco could feel her gaze but he was trying too hard to fight the force, which was trying to break free from within him to return her look.

"Yes," she then answered, squaring her shoulders. "And?"

"I can smell it," Draco told her with a grim face as he looked up again, clutching his sides as he started to loose his balance.

"How can you smell it? That's impossible," she asked perplex, her hands tightening around her wand. His eyes followed her movement, glancing down at it.

"I just do," he shrugged. "I can smell a lot of things," he added.

"Who are you? What are do doing here?" She then asked, her eyes took in his appearance and she came to to the conclusion at the same time, Draco answered her question.

"I live here."

"You live…," she stared at him in disbelief.

"How?" she breathed then but she frowned and stepped closer. "It's not about an object, is it? It's not a spell book or a weapon. It's you. They came here to find you."

Draco just looked her confused. He had no idea what she was talking about.

"Who are they?" he asked finally. "Death Eaters?"

The girl - no woman - shook her head. "No, they are from the Ministry. All Death Eaters are in Azkaban."

There was pang in Draco's chest at her words. "All?" He rasped out, more to himself than to her.

"How long have you been here?" She stepped closer, ignoring his question. "Who held you captive? Is someone else here?"

Draco shook his head, biting his lower lips bloody. She stepped closer but he stumbled back.

"Don't!" He barked. "I can't control it! I don't know what will happen."

"What will happen when? Is there another ward? A trap?" She asked panicking, her head whipping around to the Castle Keep.

"I… d-don't think so," Draco stuttered, now grinding his teeth together.

"We have to go! The _Unspeakables_ should be alarmed any minute that the wards are gone. We don't have time. Let me help you," she ushered hectically, stepping closer but Draco stumbled back further.

He shook his head wildly. "No no, stay away!"

She made another step in his direction while wearing a concerned expression.

"Stay away!" He barked in panic. He staggered further back and towards some debris from the Inner Wall.

The witch wanted to follow him but a shout in the distance made her pause. She turned around and Draco used the moment to disappear in a nook of the remains of the wall. Pressing himself against the cold and sharp stones, he tried to stay in the darkness.

He heard the voices of the two other wizards and some bits and pieces of that they needed to leave as soon as possible. Draco heard two popping sounds and he started to breathe in and out in concentration.

The new ward was lifted around the castle and Draco knew that this was his chance to escape. If the witch was right then there were more out there, who tried to catch him and they would probably be here any minute, now that nothing was warding his former prison anymore.

He was about to talk to Noctua, who was still clinging to his shoulder when the woman's face appeared in front of him. Draco was too startled to say anything and when her hand shot out to grasp his arm tightly, he just stared at her.

"The _Unspeakables_ are coming! Let me help you!" She pleaded with a tight voice. She was stubborn, Draco could see it on her face and because he had no idea what he should do, he just nodded.

She nodded back, biting her lower lip in concentration as she looked back over her shoulders, her massive amount of dark curls whipped through the air and fell on her face as she turned back. Blowing some tendrils out his her eyes, she tightened her grip on his arm.

"Now."

Draco felt Noctua's bite on his shoulder and the woman's cool hand on his wrist and then he was pulled away suddenly, everything was spinning as the witch was Apparating them away from the place, Draco hadn't left in over twelve years.


End file.
